Burning Answer

While most of us are still bundling up due to the onslaught of winter a group of people are hard at work to discover efficient ways to fight a summertime pest, one that causes millions of dollars in damage each year, grasshoppers.  Considering federal and state pest control agencies spend millions each year to control grasshopper populations it’s ironic they’re now finding controlled burning of rangeland and farmland can be used effectively and selectively  in the battle to manage grasshoppers. This has all the earmarks of one of those “well, duh” moments. Controlled land burns are a subject of much debate, with environmental groups and farmers butting heads over the now highly controversial practice. Farmers have long used field burning to control pests and rid fields of diseases, but many have had to adopt alternatives to burning because of current strict regulations. Environmentalists however are not in favor of many alternatives to controlled burning either. While scientists admit controlled burning isn’t the lone answer to managing grasshoppers, they have gone on record to state it’s an effective and needed “tool in their arsenal”.